Quench protection in high-temperature superconducting magnets
AssigneeTokamak Energy Ltd
InventorRobert Slade
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A superconducting magnet comprising a field coil comprising high temperature superconducting material and having a joint; a bypass resistance comprising a non-superconducting conductive material, wherein the bypass resistance is electrically connected to the field coil on both sides of the joint; wherein the joint is openable to break the field coil such that current flowing in the superconductor flows though the bypass resistance in order to dump energy from the field coil, and wherein the superconducting magnet is configured to open the joint in response to detection of a quench in the magnet.
Claims10
A method of detecting quenches in a superconducting magnet comprising a plurality of cables comprising HTS material in a coil, the method comprising:
- providing a plurality of optical fibres, wherein each cable of the coil of the superconducting magnet is in thermal contact with at least one of the optical fibres;
- monitoring backscattered light from each of the optical fibres;
- comparing changes in wavelength of backscattered light from each optical fibre;
- detecting a change in temperature of a cable of the coil on the basis of a change in wavelength observed in one or more first optical fibres of the plurality of optical fibres which are in thermal contact with the cable, but not observed in one or more second optical fibres of the plurality of optical fibres which are not in thermal contact with the cable;
- and
- in response to said detection, determining that the cable has quenched.
A method of detecting quenches in a superconducting magnet comprising a plurality of cables comprising HTS material in a coil, comprising:
- providing a plurality of optical fibres, wherein each cable of a coil of the superconducting magnet is in thermal contact with at least one of the optical fibres;
- monitoring backscattered light from each of the optical fibres;
- comparing changes in wavelength of backscattered light from each optical fibre;
- detecting a change in temperature of one or more cables of the coil on the basis of a change in wavelength observed only a subset of the plurality of optical fibres, but not observed in the rest of the optical fibres;
- and
- in response to said detection, determining that the cable has quenched.
A superconducting magnet comprising:
- a plurality of turns comprising cables comprising HTS superconducting material;
- a plurality of optical fibres, wherein each cable is in thermal contact with at least one of the optical fibres;
- a control unit configured to:
- monitor backscattered light from each of the optical fibres;
- compare changes in wavelength of backscattered light from each optical fibre;
- detect a change in temperature of a cable of the coil on the basis of a change in wavelength observed in one or more first optical fibres of the plurality of optical fibres which are in thermal contact with the cable, but not observed in second optical fibres of the plurality of optical fibres which are not in thermal contact with the cable;
- and
- on the basis of said detection, determine that the cable has quenched.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.